When Time Is Right
by nameless and forgotten
Summary: Outside it's raining, the room is getting colder every minute and Elphaba is alone. Waiting. Not sure whether her company is still going to arrive or if she has to spend the night on her own... Gelphie


**Disclaimer:** They don't belong to me :( If they did, the book would have a different ending

**A/N:** Reviews mean a lot to me, so make a girl happy and tell me what you think of this story :)

**When Time Is Right**

The dripping sound made Elphaba nervous. It made her want to crawl as far away from the window as possible, but since that would have meant sitting on the floor, she just hugged her knees to her body a little tighter and let her eyes wander over the open book she had placed on the bed before her.

Scanning the one page for what seemed to be the thousandth time, she wondered if she should just give up. There was no sense in reading when she wasn't able to concentrate. The rain was still drumming against the glass window, drawing random pattern as it gave in to gravity and glided down the smooth surface and the sound of it made her uncomfortable.

As long as she was far away from windows and there was the crackling of a warm fire to balance the coldness of the rain, she didn't mind this kind of weather, but this was a small room and the bed was standing close to the window. Of course it was too cheap to actually have a fireplace and even if it had, there probably wouldn't any wood around to light it up.

The day had started well enough – rather warm and windy, with light grey clouds scattered across the sky. Elphaba usually could tell when it was going to rain, but that day the sky had just opened up with no kind of warning. She had been lucky that she'd been close to the motel already, otherwise she wouldn't have had enough clothes on to protect her skin.

She had never quite understood her allergy to water. No science book she had ever read had held any kind of explanation. There were sun allergies and allergic reactions to all kinds of materials or plants, but water was never mentioned.

Elphaba let out a soft sigh as she started rubbing her bare, green arms. For a moment she eyed the heavy black dress she had put on the only chair in the room when she had undressed. It would certainly be warmer if she put it on again... Then again, her company should arrive within the next few minutes and she had survived worse.

Dark eyes wandering between the window and the door, Elphaba absentmindedly played with the hem of her thin blue cotton chemise, before trying to concentrate on the book before her once again.

The words were there, as they always were, but somehow they wouldn't transfer from the page to Elphaba's mind – something that happened very rarely to her. She had always loved her books and it took a lot to get her concentration to falter like it did right now.

Today, it seemed, she wouldn't get done any reading, she decided, flipping the cover close and smoothing out the blanket that was spread over the bed. Against the dirty white, the color of her long fingers seemed to stand out even more than usual, or maybe it was just Elphaba. Normally, she was used to her skin being in contrast to almost anything, used to standing out everywhere she went. As time had gone by, she had learned to keep a low profile and the green had stopped bothering her as much as it had when she was still younger.

After a certain amount of time, one grew used to almost everything.

Elphaba pulled back her hand and buried it in the soft fabric of her gown, while her eyes wandered to the door again.

Maybe the message she had sent out hadn't reached the right person, Elphaba thought, searching the ceiling for an answer. It had, after all, been rather risky to let a random person deliver her message. A massage that would only be understood by the one who was meant to receive it, but even then Elphaba wasn't sure if it had been clear enough. It had worked the other times they had met, but maybe today was an exception. Or the beginning of a row of exceptions that would soon become regularity...

Maybe her choice of hotel wasn't fit. No, not just maybe. The minute she had walked into the room, she had realized the conditions there were even worse than she had imagined, but at least it seemed clean and nobody would notice them here.

Now that minutes ticked by, she started to wonder if the accommodation was too shabby after all. The paint was falling from the walls and the wooden stairs had made very suspicious noises. Still – it was one of the only places where she was able to stay unnoticed and if she could, she would've taken a room in the most fancy hotel in the whole of Oz. Elphaba only hoped that her expected companion understood. It was always a little hard to tell...

Wrapped up in thoughts, Elphaba sunk deeper into the cushions and let her eyes fall close. She told herself she would only let her eyes rest for a minute or two, that she wouldn't fall asleep anyway – not with the raindrops still falling against the window – but as it happened, sleep overwhelmed the green woman after all and her breath evened just as the door was quietly opened.

Glinda wouldn't have been caught dead in a place like this, but she knew how difficult it was for them to be somewhere without anyone noticing. Working out her disguise had taken her a few hours, which was why she was a little late. She hated having Elphaba forced to wait and she was worried that she would find the room empty once she entered it, but it had been important to her that nobody would recognize her.

She had borrowed the dress of the maid that was closest to her own size, but the gown was still lose fitting in some places and too tight in others, not to mention that it was too long and therefore soaked up to her calves. This outfit had been completed by old, brown leather shoes and a cloak that had lost its midnight blue color to the sun and was now a faded shade of grey.

With barely any make up on and her hair tucked away in a messy bun at the nape of her neck she had blended in perfectly with all the other huddled figures, hastily rushing through the streets.

Once she had closed the door behind herself, a triumphant smile graced her lips and she was just about to begin apologizing to Elphaba when she noticed, searching the green face, that dark, full eyelashes rested peacefully on green skin, where she had expected a pair of dark eyes, sparkling with anticipation or maybe annoyance at her tardiness.

A relieved sigh left the blonde's lips that had curled into an even bigger smile by now and she just stood there, watching the other woman's sleeping form with a growing warmth in her heart. Everytime she saw Elphaba, she knew that the green woman was worth all the risks Glinda took by meeting her in all the shabbiest places of the Emerald City. She was the one person the blonde's heart belonged to, after all.

There was an urge in Glinda to just jump onto the bed and hug Elphaba to make sure that she was really there, but she knew better. Elphaba looked so peaceful and in no way did she want to disturb that while it lasted.

Instead, she took off the cloak and fought with her maid's dress until it finally fell to the floor revealing a creme colored satin negligee that complimented her form and hugged her body just where it should. Glinda smoothed the fabric over her thighs and then reached back to untie her hair and let it fall over her shoulders in lose waves.

Watching her reflection in the dark window, she bit her lips a few times, making them gain some color, before she pinched her cheeks to get a similar effect. She knew that Elphaba didn't care about how Glinda looked, but the blonde still wanted to look beautiful for her Elphie, and she knew that Elphaba felt the same about her. The dark blue cotton gown with its embroidered flowers around the hem and the neckline and the small pearl colored buttons hadn't gone unnoticed. Neither had Elphaba's dark tresses that surrounded her face, making it seem even more beautiful to Glinda.

The blonde remained quiet for a while, until the chill had forced goosebumps on her arms and legs and she decided to slip under the covers – something she thought Elphaba should have done as well, since the room seemed to grow colder every minute.

Once in the bed, Glinda couldn't resist snuggling up to Elphaba's lean body, resting her head against a green shoulder. When she noticed how cold the other woman's skin was, she knew that she had to wake Elphaba.

With a soft squeeze of the shoulder her head had been resting on and the soft calling of the green woman's name was all it took to get her upper body to shoot into a sitting position. Confused, Elphaba took in the room and when her eyes finally found Glinda's blue ones, a smile spread on her face.

„You came...," she whispered, turning her whole body to face her companion. Not being able to resist the blonde any longer, she lifted her hand and placed it on Glinda's cheek. For a moment, Glinda closed her eyes, leaning into Elphaba's touch, before she let sky blue eyes meet Elphaba's dark ones (she had never really been able to tell what color they were).

„Of course I came! I was just a little late... and I'm sorry for that," she started to explain before she was silenced by a pair of lips covering her own. Smiling, she deepened the kiss, pulling the blanket out from under Elphaba's body while she enjoyed the taste that was so purely Elphaba.

They broke contact for a moment, but only until Glinda had draped the covers over Elphaba's and her own body until only their heads and a mass of blonde and black hair was visible. It didn't take them long to engage in another heated kiss, both knowing that time was ticking away and should be used appropriately.

* * *

Glinda awoke with a smile on her face, pulling the warm body beside her closer to her own. She enjoyed Elphaba's nearness in quiet and with eyes still closed until she felt strong arms embracing her tightly.

„This was nice," the blonde mumbled, smiling blissfully against green skin. She knew this wouldn't last much longer, but for the moment she just banned these thoughts out of her mind.

„It was," came the quiet reply before she felt Elphaba kiss the top of her head. „You know we both should be leaving soon," Elphaba added, trying to hide the pain in her voice as best as she could. She hated knowing that within the next hour or two Glinda would be back in her mannor, smiling for the public and playing a loving wife, but this was the only way they would ever be together.

„I know... but let's just not think about it for another minute or two," Glinda pleaded, finally raising her head to catch Elphaba's lips in a loving kiss. „You must know that I hate leaving you to go back just as much as you do...," she whispered, leaving barely a breath of air between her and Elphaba's mouth while she did so.

„I do, my sweet, I do...," Elphaba whispered back, her voice inches away from cracking. „I wish it didn't have to be like this," she added, leaning into another kiss while pulling Glinda's body as tightly to her own as possible. This kiss was goodbye and they both knew it. Their lips stayed locked for as long as they could, but finally both had break their connection to catch their breaths. „We have to go."

Of course it had been Elphaba's words – always the rational one – but it was Glinda who made the first move to get out of bed, as much as she despised not only leaving her green lover but also the warmth of the covers.

As she looked around for her clothes, she found them neatly folded on the chair and a smile appeared on her lips, no matter how heart broken she was. It had become their little ritual that Elphaba used some kind of magic trick to take care of Glinda's clothing, which she usually left scattered on the floor.

Reluctantly, she started to dress, only to feel Elphaba's long fingers buttoning her gown up as soon as she had pulled it over. Enjoying the touch for as long as possible, she only turned when the green hands had left her back.

Elphaba was already dressed in her long, dark dress again. Glinda had never understood how it was possible for a woman to get dressed so quickly, especially in a dress like this, but she supposed that Elphaba had her ways.

When she noticed Elphaba's worried look at the window and the rain that was still pouring outside, Glinda quickly reached for her cloak and put it around the other woman's shoulders.

„You're gonna need it more than I do," she told her before placing a soft kiss on Elphaba's cheek. They had a silent agreement, that once they were out of bed, platonic kisses were the only ones shared, for they both knew their parting would become even harder if they started locking lips again.

„But..," Elphaba started to object, but before she could say anything else, she was silenced by a slim, well manicured finger and a pair of pleading blue eyes. „Thank you," she mumbled, pulling the thick fabric closer around her body.

„When will we meet again?" Glinda asked, her voice shaking.

„We will meet again when time is right, my sweet," was the only answer she got, paired with a long, loving look that begged her to trust Elphaba, before the green woman left the room and disappeared in the shadows of the staircase.

**The End**


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